(Israeli winemaker Golan Flam inspects his wine)
This is a guest post by Israeli wine expert Richard Sheffer from Israel Wine Direct. Last week he talked about the connection between wine, man and the land. This week he talks a little more about the history of wine:
In spite of what some Californians believe, wine was not born in Napa Valley. In fact, the eastern Mediterranean, of which Israel is a part, is the birthplace of wine. The very first thing Noah did when he got off the ark was to plant a vineyard. Wine figures prominently in the Bible and was widely used in the region both privately and as a part of the ancient Temple ritual. Wine in fact provided a major export industry for ancient Israel.
Archaeologists have discovered sealed vessels of wine on sunken ships in the Mediterranean Sea right off the coast. And ancient stone “gats” (Hebrew for wine press) sit amidst current grape vineyards in today’s Israel. So, we know that wine has been made in and around Israel for thousands of years. (By the way, I understand that a 30-minute plane ride from Israel on the island of Cyprus, they’ve discovered wine artifacts more than 5,500 years old!).
Dr. Isaac Berzin, founder of 
We’ve been a little overwhelmed by American visitors in this tiny country lately. Earlier this month we were visited by President George Bush and now, for a completely different reason, 
Nachalat Binyamin Street in Tel Aviv is famous for its weekly market of local, handmade arts and crafts – a market that is very environmentally friendly.
